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The Hannibal Lecture
You are a God
The elephant is a God
(Bhagavad Gita?)
Paul Dance
You are an elephant you are
And the elephant is you
Stay with me and I’ll show you
the way across the alps
but cross me and you’ll
regret it.
The elephant eats shoots
And leaves!
But that’s the privilege of Gods
I’m not so genteel or punctual
You punctuate to your heart’s content
I have a penchant for your heart’s contents
And artifice or religion
Won’t save you from my tastes
And my arterial obsession
But send you down a trunk road
From spiritual salvation
So don’t listen to the masses
Bread and altar wine are shams
There’s nothing like the real McCoy
for dirtying your hands
on some endangered species liver
or pureed monkey glands
And ignore environmentalists
Who scream of dying species
Or, stranger, coprophiliacs who
Examine piles of faeces
And can tell you if your diet
Is too rich in meat or okra
And recommend essential change
To balance up your chakra
And chakra is a fine and grave
And private place we know
As in a poem to his mistress
Andrew Marvell told us so
But when your chakra’s balanced and
You live on beans and lentils
And your karma’s planned for a thousand years
To be absolutely gentle
Just remember, in your light, harmonious
Meditative soul
If you meet me alone one night
I’ll consume your body whole
Though you’re principled and proud,
Choose all your food with utmost care
He’s an amoral carnivore who
Eats steaks and offal rare
So if you think your faith and creed
Will save you from the sinners
Remember if I fancy you
For me are seven dinners
And if religion beckons
Promising to be your saviour
Your devout but pusillanimous priests
Will always use their waiver
If they know you’re under threat from him
And his bestial desires
They’ll soon renege their promises
To save you from hell’s fires
So forget the Pope, it’s sacrifice
That shows the real thinkers
Follow your instinct, grill the heart
And imitate the Incas
